Equality Before the Law
Equal Protection Clause 14 th Amendment No State shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws Meant to benefit newly freed slaves Now means that States and local govt cannot draw unreasonable distinctions between any classes of people
Equal Protection Clause Reasonable Classification Govt must have the power to classify, draw distinctions between persons and groups Govt must be able to discriminate– and it does Ex. Bank robbers fall in a certain class and receive special treatment from law enforcement Govt may not discriminate unreasonably State taxes the sale of cigarettes Taxes smokers but not non smokers No state can only tax blonde smokers, or only male smokers
Segregation in America In the late 1800s, half the states passed segregation laws Segregation separation of one group from another Jim Crow laws Laws that separate people on basis of race– were aimed at African Americans Required segregation by race in both public and private facilities Separate But Equal Plessy v. Ferguson 1896 Law did not violate the EPC because separate facilities were provided for African Americans and whites Lasted for 60 years
Brown v. Board of Education 1954 Supreme Court struck down laws allowing separate schools for white and African American students. Segregation by race in public schools is invalid. State legislatures and school boards tried to block integration in the south Integration is the process of bringing a group into the main stream of society
De Jure, De Facto Segregation De jure segregation Segregation by law, with legal sanction Ex. Jim Crow Laws De facto segregation Segregation in fact, even if no laws requires it. What we have today Ex. Communities where people live in cities
Classification by Sex Only reference to sex in the Constitution 19 th Amendment- denies the right to vote “on account of sex” Classification by sex not unconstitutional Intended to serve an important govt objective Substantially related to achieving that goal Ex. All male draft